Experiments: basic research on living systems, not technology.
Also: bomb-detecting spinach, nanobionic plants, carbon nanotubes in plants
Plant nanobionics adds nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes to living plants to give them new abilities, like boosting photosynthesis or signalling when they detect a chemical.
Uses proposed by researchers for this topic are listed on Potential uses.
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Wong and colleagues turned living spinach plants into self-powered samplers of chemicals in groundwater, including nitroaromatic compounds used in explosives, that could send an infrared signal to a smartphone.
Built / tested: sensor spinach
As reported in: Wong, Giraldo, Kwak et al. (2016). Nitroaromatic detection and infrared communication from wild-type plants using plant nanobionics. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat4771
Abstract only
Giraldo and colleagues found carbon nanotubes moved into extracted plant chloroplasts and raised their photosynthetic activity more than threefold.
Publisher update notice: correction
As reported in: Giraldo, Landry, Faltermeier et al. (2014). Plant nanobionics approach to augment photosynthesis and biochemical sensing. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat3890